(16 Jul 2007) SHOTLIST
1. Wide of police barricade controlling access to former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's residence in Dhaka, police
2. Mid shot of policemen checking car before it enters road to Hasina's residence
3. Various of police barricade, policemen
4. Close of policeman's legs - in riot gear
5. Wide of barricade on road leading to Hasina's residence, car passes through
6. Various of police at barricade
STORYLINE
Police arrested former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday on charges of extorting money from a businessman, and she was ordered to be jailed pending trial, her lawyer said.
Hasina, who served as prime minister from 1996-2001, was arrested at her home in the capital, Dhaka, and taken to court.
According to Hasina's defence lawyer, Abdul Matin Khasru, a magistrate ordered Hasina to remain in custody for an unspecified period ahead of the trial.
Magistrate Kamrunnar, who goes by one name only, denied bail.
Hasina, 59, was then taken to a state-owned building that has recently been converted into a sub-jail, police said.
Khasru said Hasina has been accused of extorting about 30 million takas (441-thousand US dollars) from a company in return for allowing it to build a power station while she was in office.
Hasina has denied all the charges against her, saying they are aimed at keeping her from contesting the country's next elections.
The military-backed government, which is in the midst of an anti-corruption drive, had earlier barred her from leaving the country.
In April, police charged Hasina with abetting in the murder of four political opponents, and a court issued a warrant for her arrest on that charge, but it was later withdrawn.
The charge involved the deaths of four protesters during a riot in October at one of a series of demonstrations by her Awami League party that accused then-Prime Minister Zia's government of rigging the committee that was supposed to oversee January elections and of rigging electoral rolls.
A bitter feud between the country's two major political camps, led by Hasina and her archrival and another former prime minister Khaleda Zia ahead of scheduled elections earlier this year led to weeks of deadly street protests in which 34 people were killed.
Bangladesh, under a state of emergency since mid-January, is being ruled by an interim government led by a former central bank governor.
It has vowed to fight corruption, reform electoral rules, and clean up the nation's factional - and often violent - politics before holding the next polls.

Find out more about AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ] ​​
Instagram: [ Ссылка ]


You can license this story through AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]

свернуть